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Impaired Insulin Response Linked to Alzheimer's Disease

  • May 03, 2008
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This is an older article that may not reflect Dr. Mercola’s current view on this topic. Use our search engine to find Dr. Mercola’s latest position on any health topic.

elderly, Alzheimer‘s diseaseImpaired insulin response appears to be involved in the development of Alzheimer‘s disease, according to a long-term population-based study.

Researchers analyzed data for more than 2,200 men who underwent glucose tolerance testing at the age of 50. After a follow-up at an average age of 32 years, 394 men developed dementia or mental impairments, including 102 with confirmed Alzheimer‘s disease and 57 with confirmed vascular dementia.

A low insulin response at the beginning of the study was associated with a 30 percent higher risk of Alzheimer‘s disease. Overall dementia and cognitive risks were associated with high fasting serum insulin, insulin resistance, impaired insulin secretion, and glucose intolerance.
 
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Alzheimer’s disease is increasingly being called a third form of diabetes, and this study lends further support to this theory.

Along with your pancreas, your brain also produces insulin. Insulin and insulin receptors in your brain are crucial for learning and memory, and it’s known that these components are lower in people with Alzheimer’s disease. In your brain, insulin binds to an insulin receptor at a synapse, which triggers a mechanism that allows nerve cells to survive and memories to form.

However, researchers have found that a toxic protein in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients -- called ADDL -- removes insulin receptors from nerve cells, and renders those neurons insulin resistant.

It has been suggested that ADDLs accumulate at the beginning of Alzheimer’s disease and thereby block memory function.

There is even a test that measures ADDL in your spinal fluid that claims to detect Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages.

Of course, what you want is to prevent Alzheimer’s disease from occurring at all, and this is entirely possible.

You Can Prevent Alzheimer’s and Diabetes at the Same Time

That’s because three of the most important methods I recommend to prevent Alzheimer’s disease are identical to those recommended to prevent diabetes. How can this be? Because the single most important physical factor that is responsible for accelerating nearly every chronic disease known to man is to normalize your insulin and leptin levels.

And you can do this by:

1. Exercising. Exercise protects your brain just as it protects the rest of your body from diabetes.

2. Eating a nutritious diet that’s right for your nutritional type.

3. Getting plenty of high-quality omega-3 in your diet, such as by taking a krill oil supplement. A diet rich in omega-3 fats has been found to ward off both Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.

4. If you are having a hard time getting yourself to exercise or following the diet I recommend, then use the hypnosis program I recommend to stop cravings and increase your motivation to eat right and exercise more.

By 2050, it’s estimated that a full 10 million U.S. “baby boomers” will have come down with Alzheimer’s, which translates to 1 out of 8!

This is NOT supposed to be happening, as your brain is capable of remaining fully functional no matter what your age is. That is, as long as you take care of it. So in addition to the three important tips above, what else can you do to keep Alzheimer’s away?
  • Avoid and remove mercury from your body. Dental amalgam fillings are one of the major sources of mercury, however you should be healthy prior to having them removed. Once you have adjusted to following the diet described in my Total Health Program, you can follow the mercury detox protocol and then find a biological dentist to have your amalgams removed.
ONLY see a high-quality, biologically trained dentist who knows what they’re doing, or your health could get ruined.
  • Avoid aluminum, such as in antiperspirants, cookware, etc.
  • Avoid flu vaccinations as they contain both mercury and aluminum!
  • Eat wild blueberries, which have high anthocyanin and antioxidant content that are known to guard against Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases.
  • Challenge your mind daily. Mental stimulation, such as traveling, learning to play an instrument or doing crossword puzzles, is associated with a decreased risk of Alzheimer's. Researchers suspect that mental challenge helps to build up your brain, making it less susceptible to the lesions associated with Alzheimer's disease.

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